Our goal, as a member-owned financial institution, is to not only service our members, but to exceed their expectations each time they interact with Bluegrass Community Federal Credit Union. We strive to deliver a positive experience to each individual no matter their circumstance, and to make a difference as much as possible. Our performance is determined by the commitment to our members as well as how we impact the communities we serve, and our fiscal strength. I am delighted to report that this past year we have made great progress in all areas!

Looking Forward

The members are the core of all our decisions, and it has been that way since 1959. They are also the primary reason we exist today. Although there is still much more work to be done to become an even better credit union in the future, we continuously evaluate our performances to find better ways to service our members in all areas. By us applying for grants each year, it allows us to bring in more training that will also better educate our staff to better serve you.

Financial Highlights

This year, as we strive to improve services to our members, we have begun to offer a better variety of products, suited to what you have asked for. For example, this year not only are we now offering a wider range of discount tickets to many major theme parks and attractions as well as to Paramount Arts Center, but for KDMC hospital employees, we allow hassell-free payroll deduction to help purchase them. Some other products and services being provided are our Vacation Club and Christmas Club accounts, Gift Cards and serveral borrowing options for new car loans, payday loans, etc.

We are committed to you, the shareholders, to continue to strive for improvement in all areas of service! Thank you for your support as we move through 2015!

Our goal, as a member-owned financial institution, is to not only service our members, but to exceed their expectations each time they interact with Bluegrass Credit Union. We strive to deliver a positive experience to each individual no matter their circumstance, and to make a difference as much as possible. Our performance is determined by the commitment to our members as well as how we impact the communities we serve, and our fiscal strength. I am delighted to report that this past year we have made great progress in all areas!

Looking Forward

The members are the core of all of our decisions, and it has been that way since 1959. They are also the primary reason we exist today. Although there is still much more work to be done to become an even better credit union in the future, we continuously evaluate our performances to find better ways to service our members in all areas. By us applying for grants each year, it allows us to bring in more training that will also better educate our staff to better serve you.

Financial Highlights

Despite our economy this past year, Bluegrass was still able to end 2014 financially strong. Due to the solid commitment of our Members and Team Members, Bluegrass Credit Union was able to have another successful year.

Thank you for your support as we move into 2015!

Terry Kidd

Terry Kidd

President and CEO

]]>http://bluegrasscreditunion.com/?feed=rss2&p=7440December Newsletterhttp://bluegrasscreditunion.com/?p=734
http://bluegrasscreditunion.com/?p=734#commentsFri, 12 Dec 2014 12:57:14 +0000http://bluegrasscreditunion.com/?p=734Another year has almost come and gone, and I am almost certain no one expected it to be here so soon!

Although we have embraced a few changes this year, I cannot help but to feel a tremendous sense of accomplishment. Thank you to everyone who has made this year a successful one.

To make the holidays a little easier I would like to remind everyone of some of our convenient services:

1-855-692-2328 (855-MYB-CFCU) this is our automated teller system where you can check your balance, last 10 transactions, and make transfers all under 1 minute!

Free ONLINE BANKING and BILL PAY- call one of our Member Service Reps that would be happy to set you up today.

Also it is not too late to open or reopen your Christmas club for next year. This is an easier answer to next year’s shopping money or to pay for property taxes.

The KDMC Benefits Fair was a huge success on November the 5th 2014; I enjoyed meeting all the members who attended. I would like to thank all those who came to our table and became members or opened up a Christmas Club account. I am overwhelmed with the continued support the credit union receives from our membership that works in the KDHS facilities.

This is the holiday season officially with Thanksgiving only weeks away. And members having been coming to the credit union or stopped by our table at the Benefits Fair to pick up their Christmas club checks. Christmas Club Accounts are really neat accounts and I wish that everyone would open one. It makes the holiday shopping season so much easier. The stress free existence of no Christmas loans and having money readily available for those holiday expenses is absolutely wonderful. I recommend it to anyone.

Thanksgiving is upon us and I would like to remind everyone that our office will be closed on Thursday November 27th 2014 for the holiday. Our Black Friday hours will be 9am to 12 pm drive thru only. And we will be open the normal business hours of 9 am to 12 pm on November 29th. Please everyone be safe and enjoy the time with family and friends.

To make your Black Friday shopping a little easier we have implemented the Skip A Payment Program for the November 28th payment. The Skip A Payment will allow you to only pay the interest on the loans and a fee per loan skipped. This will give you extra money to help with the holidays. There are exclusions to this program, please call a loan officer to discuss in more detail.

And for anyone needing last minute gift ideas don’t forget about our prepaid gift cards, any amount over $5.00 can be loaded onto the card and our activation fee is merely $3.75.

October begins the holiday season here at the credit union as members begin paying their property taxes, buying Halloween candy, food for Thanksgiving dinner and Christmas presents from Black Friday until Christmas Eve. I am looking forward to this rush of people coming into the credit union and telling their stories of family time together and the kindness the season brings.

For October, me and several of the staff members plan on setting up a table at the KYOVA Safe Trick or Treat Night. Bring your witches, ghosts, goblins, princesses and other trick or treators out to see us. The Safe Trick or Treat Night will be October 28th 2014 starting at 5:00 PM.

The biggest thing coming up is the 2014 Christmas Club checks. This year the checks will be ready November 3rd in the office, any checks not picked up by November 6th will be mailed out. Anyone participating in the Christmas Club program from the KDMC-OH facility may call the credit union between now and November 3rd and the staff members going to the KDMC-OH Benefits Fair on November 4th will bring them when they come. Also for KDMC main campus members we will be on campus November 5th to pass out checks.

Since I’m mentioning Christmas Clubs I have several things to remind everyone about. Christmas Club enrollment starts November 1st 2014 for the 2015 season. We now allow members to have their Christmas Club funds deposited into their savings or checking account. If you choose to do this option you will have access to your funds as early as October 31st. This is a free election that we encourage everyone to participate in . Also, for those who wish to sign up for the Christmas Club account, re open their account, or change the amount withheld from their payroll, please contact an MSR about the appropriate forms to fill out.

September 20th 2014 was Poage’s Landing Days downtown and I enjoyed all the familiar faces that I saw while I was there. The Rodney Atkins concert was great and I hope everyone that could attend went to watch him. The car show and craft tent had an amazing display of vehicles and crafts for everyone to enjoy.

As always I encourage everyone to sign up for estatements. It’s the paper friendly way to receive your statements. One of my favorite features is the 12 months of storage readily accessible. Also, for those who might not have read their statement from June 2014 we have begun charging $2.00 for a statement copy since our estatement system allows for instant and free access to your statements at any time.

This month in the September 2014 statements there will be the credit union’s first quarterly mailer. It’s a quick glance of the things to look forward to over the next three months in one place. Make sure that you check your December 2014 statement as the quarterly mailer will contain the date and time of the Credit Union’s annual meeting. It’s a time when we all can get together and talk about what we want for the credit union, where we want the credit union to go, and how we plan on getting it there.

Speaking of the future of the credit union, the credit union management team would like to encourage everyone who has suggestions for the future of the credit union to let a staff member know. We are starting to plan for the future of the credit union and we want to know what you want from your credit union. Without you there wouldn’t be a credit union and I would like to thank each and every one of you for your business.

The Labor Day weekend has just past and I hope everyone can and does take the time off to enjoy the last days of summer with their family and friends. The credit union has been busy lately with back to school parents and the big Labor Day car deals that are going on. So we are looking forward to the break as much as you all are.

This year so far has been a good year for the credit union. We have done so much with new products and with a relatively young staff. We have started several new products like the Payday Loan Program and Skip a Payment Program. This time of year though is when we start thinking about the future of the credit union. Where we want it to be this time next year and the year after? If you all have any suggestions of products or services that you would like to have at the credit union let me or my office manager know. I personally would like to see another ATM in the area, we currently have one in Portsmouth and at our main office. Feel free to provide suggestions on where we should put another.

A new and interesting service that the credit union now offers is GAP insurance on secured loans. GAP insurance protects your vehicle or RV in the case of a total loss. If the total loss payout of the vehicle or RV is less than the loan balance then the GAP insurance will pay for the difference. I would strongly recommend this product to anyone who is buying a vehicle. There is a one-time fee of $200.00. Also, by the end of the year we will be able to offer joint disability insurance on all loans, currently our insurance company is going through a rewrite with the state of Kentucky that will add the joint disability as a credit insurance option.

Also, in the horizon is the Christmas Club Payout, next month will be the last month of the 2014 Christmas Club and checks are looking to be ready the beginning of November as normal. We will keep them in the office for a few days before mailing them. Exact dates and times will be set in the next newsletter. So for anyone who has yet to sign up for a Christmas Club account I would recommend that you do so as soon as possible.

For those who like to plan ahead remember that November will be the skip a payment month in the winter. Don’t forget to come in and fill out your 2014 Winter Skip a Payment forms. There are exclusions to this program please contact the Loan Department for a list of all exclusions.
I recently visited Pam Trimble and her staff at the Kings Daughters Medical Specialties of Prestonsburg. I would like to tell them how much I appreciate all the members we have from that area. You all are an excellent group of individuals.

This time of the year is back to school time. It’s been exciting to watch families go school shopping and the various other back to school activities going on throughout the community. I hope that anyone who needs helps with their back to school shopping will come to the credit union and see what we can do for you. Also, for all those that are going back themselves I wish you success in your classes.
We have a computer, uniform, and fitness equipment loan with an interest rate as low as 3.74% that can help buy the iPads and laptop computers needed for many school projects along with uniforms for those who will be doing clinicals this fall.
This year at the credit union continues to be an extremely interesting time, we are experiencing a lot of growth in new members and for all of those who joined the credit union over the last six weeks I would like to say welcome to the credit union. This credit union is your credit union and if you have any questions or concerns please get a hold of me. My door is always open to suggestions on how to make your credit union experience unique.
I would like to remind all of you who have not finalized your weekend and vacation plans that we do have discounted theme park tickets to Kings Island, Cedar Point, Dollywood, Camden Park and Kentucky Kingdom. Please call an MSR for a complete listing and prices.
I encourage everyone who has not already signed up for the 2015 Vacation Club season to do so to maximum their savings potential for their 2015 vacation or home improvement project.
I would like to remind all those who have not done so to go out to their online banking and sign up for estatements. The process is quick and simple!
Our PayDay Loan program has really taken off and I am glad that we can help so many of you get out of the PayDay Loan Cycle. We hope to continue to help many more of our members this year to get free from their PayDay Loans.

The fourth of July was this weekend and for all of you that were off and able to enjoy it I hope that you made the most of the day celebrating our country’s independence and in remembrance of all those who have given their lives for our freedom.

This year at the credit union has been an extremely interesting time, we are experiencing a lot of growth in new members and for all of those who joined the credit union over the last six weeks I would like to say welcome to the credit union. This credit union is your credit union and if you have any questions or concerns please get a hold of me. My door is always open to suggestions on how to make your credit union experience unique.

I would like to remind all of you who have not finalized your weekend and vacation plans that we do have discounted theme park tickets to Kings Island, Cedar Point, Dollywood, Camden Park and Kentucky Kingdom. Please call an MSR for a complete listing and prices.

The Vacation Club checks for the 2014 season were handed out last month and I encourage everyone who has not already signed up for the 2015 Vacation Club season to do so to maximum their savings potential for their 2015 vacation or home improvement project.

We have just finished our quarterly mailer and after watching several days’ worth of folding and stuffing by my staff I must encourage everyone to go out to their online banking and sign up for estatements. The process is quick and simple and a lot less paper in the world.

Our two newest programs did really well last month we had 40 participants in the Skip A Payment program in June and we are glad that we can help those of you who signed up for the program. Remember that the Skip A Payment program will be back around in November so if you missed the opportunity last month November will be here before you know it.

Our PayDay Loan program has really taken off and I am glad that we can help so many of you get out of the PayDay Loan Cycle. We hope to continue to help many more of our members this year to get free from their PayDay Loans.

Bluegrass Community FCU has just reached the milestone of three years in its new building. We moved here in June of 2011 and it still amazes me at the differences between the credit union down at 2205 Carter and the credit union we have now at 2321 Carter. The two do not seem like they could even be a part of the same organization. This credit union has been a credit union of continual change and that’s what I like about it. Every day it seems that there is a new product or service being offered to our members or a new way of doing business.

I would like to take a moment to say that we have a limited time special on our Home Equity Loans with rates starting as low as 3.99%- which includes all possible credit union discounts. So anyone needing to do some large scale renovations should come by and see our loan officer today.

The season for vacations is upon us and I can already tell that there is a larger demand for discount tickets than last year. So bearing that in mind we have placed the ticket sales form on the website for easier access to those who need to see prices. Also for those who are KDMC employees or affiliates we can payroll deduct those tickets up to 2 payrolls. If you know someone who is not a member but a KDMC employee or affiliate they can still buy tickets; however, without becoming a member they will not be able to payroll deduct the tickets.

I would like to take a moment before talking about some of our upcoming changes to remind everyone that we all should be striving for a greener more sustainable way of business. That is one of the reasons why I would like to remind everyone to sign up for E-statements. I encourage everyone to go to their online banking Click on the Accounts Tab and the Account Statement link and sign up today.

Bluegrass Community FCU has an exciting new service to offer this month and for those of you who are not able to take advantage this month it will be offered again in November. And this new service is SKIP A PAYMENT!! That’s right you can skip your June’s payment, now that doesn’t meant that you do not pay us, we still require that you pay for the June’s interest and a nominal fee for extending the loan. For those who want to participate you must be a member in good standing and for other exclusions or if you want to talk to a loan officer about this option please contact a loan officer at (606) 324-0888 ext 21.

I am happy to announce that the new Payday Loan Program we started last month is doing really well. We have had several members approach the loan department about the new program and it uplifts me to know that we can help a few of you get out from under the Payday Loan Cycle.

Vacation Club checks were sent out this week and I want to take the time to remind those who have not signed up for our Vacation Club program that now is the time to do so for maximum savings for next year’s vacation. For those of you wanting to go somewhere special or out of the country this is a great way to start saving and for those who are more of a home body this can help you to save for that next big home improvement project you want to get started with. Not to mention for members with kids this could be a way to help with school clothes and school supplies before school starts back in 2015. There are many wonderful uses for this savings product please utilize it.

The spring has started with the rain that we see coming down quite regularly now and everyone knows that once it stops flowers will start to grow and bloom and weeds to grow. And just like the world is changing so is Bluegrass Community FCU.
I would like to take a moment before talking about some of our upcoming changes to remind everyone that we all should be striving for a greener more sustainable way of business. That is one of the reasons why I would like to remind everyone to sign up for E-statements. I encourage everyone to go to their online banking accounts, and the Account Statement link and to sign up today.
Bluegrass Community FCU has an exciting new product that is rolling out this month. I am very happy to now offer our membership a way to get out of the vicious Payday Loan Cycle. This program known as the Payday Loan Program provides a member with up to $500 that they can payback over several months that will help them out of the payday loan cycle. I want this program to be the way towards financial freedom that I know some of Bluegrass Community FCU’s members want but can’t seem to find. This is a way to build a member’s credit score and get the financial independence they deserve for all the hard work they do.
We are unfortunately experiencing some staff changes that I would like to acknowledge. Tammie Jenkins after many great years of service here at the credit union has decided to start her retirement in Florida early. She is taking a position down in Florida, which will deprive us of her knowledge and expertise. However, I wish her the best and to enjoy all the sunshine on the beach she can. Tammie started at Bluegrass Community FCU on November 2, 2009 as the receptionist down at the 2205 Carter Ave building, once moving to our current location Tammie has held the positions of Teller, Head Teller, and Loan Officer. We have some new faces in the Teller line now with the addition of Amanda Hanshaw who will is currently our Assistant Head Teller in training. She has been here for almost three weeks and has fitted in as a natural part of the Bluegrass Community FCU family, and another addition we recently added is Stephanie Stevens. When you get a chance come by and see our new ladies and introduce yourselves, they will provide the great customer service experience that you come to expect from the staff of Bluegrass Community FCU. Every member here is a person to us with an individual name and family, our members are not numbers.
The end of this month is the end of the 2013-2014 Vacation Club everyone can come by the credit union June 1st to pick up their checks or we will be mailing them out. So make sure that you have the correct mailing address on file with us. As the 2013 Club period comes to an end I encourage everyone who hasn’t already signed up to do so now. The sooner you do the bigger your 2015 Vacation or home improvement will be.
Also we currently have a 2005 Chevrolet Malibu with 225,000 miles for sale. This vehicle will be up for bid until May 14th 2014 with a minimum bid of $1,599.00.